Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari on Friday thanked Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz Sharif for what he called a “warm welcome and positive gesture” after she publicly greeted him on his visit to Punjab.
Replying to Maryam’s post on X, Bilawal wrote: “Thank you Madam Chief Minister for the warm welcome and positive gesture.”
In her message, Maryam had said, “I extend a warm welcome to @BBhuttoZardari on his visit to Punjab. Punjab is his home, and he will always find a place of respect here.”
“Thank you for your kind comments. You have my sincere wishes and prayers,” he added.
In October, Maryam claimed that her government had not complained or sought help from anyone to help flood-affected citizens, and asserted that Punjab would handle the crisis with its own resources.
“I have not extended my hands to anyone. I have protected the self-respect of the people of Punjab,” he said, in apparent reference to Bilawal’s appeal to the Center to seek international assistance for flood victims.
In early September, the PPP chief had criticized the “delay” in the start of this process, calling it “beyond comprehension” and noting that such calls were standard practice for disasters of this scale internationally.
He noted that similar measures had been taken in recent floods when he was foreign minister, as well as in the 2010 floods and the 2005 earthquake.
Subsequently, the two key allies became embroiled in a fierce war of words that began over flood compensation through the Benazir Income Support Program (BISP).
The verbal spats later subsided after the Pakistan Muslim League – Nawaz (PML-N) assembled a delegation comprising Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar, Home Minister Mohsin Naqvi and National Assembly Speaker Ayaz Sadiq, who met President Asif Ali Zardari in Nawabshah.
